Firm withdraws interest in mill

BANGOR – Massachusetts-based Paper Acquisition Corp. has informed economic developers that it no longer is interested in purchasing the former Eastern Fine Paper Co. in Brewer.

Drew Sachs, economic development manager for the city of Brewer, said Monday that he was notified by the state Department of Economic and Community Development that Paper Acquisition was stopping its review of the 41-acre waterfront mill site.

Sachs said the DECD informed him that Paper Acquisition wanted to find a financial backer “to take on a higher risk” than the company’s partners would, but could not find one.

Gov. John Baldacci, who more than a week ago announced that he wanted to form a task force to pursue manufacturing and other options for the closed paper mill, said last week that his staff had contacted Paper Acquisition to find out whether it was interested.

Robb Osinski, a partner in Paper Acquisition, said last week that his company wanted more information about what the governor or the task force envisioned for the mill site. He said he asked DECD officials for a list of financial, environmental and other incentives the state was willing to offer, plus a report on the condition of the mill and the equipment inside.

This is the second time in the last five months that Paper Acquisition has started – and then stopped – its review of the mill. In February, Paper Acquisition offered $8.5 million to buy Eastern Pulp and Paper Corp., the former parent of Eastern Fine Paper and Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. in Lincoln.

Eastern Fine’s real estate and buildings now are owned by the city of Brewer. Lincoln Pulp and Paper Co. now is owned by First Paper Holding LLC of Connecticut.

One of Paper Acquisition’s partners, Satish Agrawal, had worked on at least two patents or pending patents with Eastern Fine researchers, and the patents were viewed as being used to create new lines of specialty, digital paper processes.

DECD commissioner Jack Cashman and Osinski did not return telephone calls for comment.

Baldacci’s task force, which includes Brewer officials and representatives of Eastern Maine Development Corp., DECD and the PACE labor union, meets Tuesday, June 22, in Brewer City Council chambers. Baldacci said he wants to present his options for the mill at that time, and that Paper Acquisition was one of them.